An analysis of ethnofolkloristic information related to bride kidnapping in Karakalpak folklore

Abstract

This article is devoted to the study of the custom of kyz alyp kashyu – kidnapping a girl, which has been preserved among the Karakalpaks to the present. The causes, forms and types have been identified. The peculiar features and place in wedding ceremonies are determined. Also, the article analyzes the historical and ethnographic motifs that testify to the ancient forms of bride kidnapping. Karakalpak folklore represents the most archaic layers of wedding rituals and traditions. In particular, folk tales, legends, and epics have preserved motifs related to marriage based on stealing the bride. In the work, the author shows with the help of ethnofolklore materials that the early types of bride kidnapping preserved in the texts of the Karakalpak epics differ from modern times. The motif zhaylap alyngan ҳayal or olzha ҳayal (“trophy woman”) in the Karakalpak epics has an archaic character, which is inherent mainly in the military-democratic period. One of the main requirements of a military-democratic society is the custom of kidnapping the women of the defeated side and marrying them. In another way, predatory marriage, marriage by capture, kidnapping, abduction of women is a primitive, very common form of marriage, in which the marriage union is established by forcibly (actually or feigningly) capturing a woman. These motifs are found in various variants. One of the plots that is characteristic of Karakalpak folklore is the unauthorized departure of a girl to her lover or the staging of her abduction by prior mutual consent, which is widespread among Karakalpaks today. The abduction of the bride is staged with or without the consent of the parents. According to the author of the article, the motifs associated with kidnapping the bride are peculiar not only to Karakalpak folklore, but also to other peoples and ethnic groups. This gives us the opportunity to discover the similarities and interrelationships of the Karakalpak people with other peoples. In addition, the author interprets the results of analyses of images associated with the motif of kidnapping the bride in such epics as Yedige, The Book of my grandfather Korkut, the legends Ketenler, Pedigree of Turkmen (Shazharai tarokima) and in field records conducted by the author.

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